16-18 year old students at New College Swindon are celebrating great exam success with an overall pass rate of 96%.
New College has the largest number of A-level learners in Swindon and Wiltshire and this year there were 1,368 successful exam entries.
14 students achieved 3 A grades or more, an outstanding achievement.
These great pass rates indicate that once again, our students have achieved highly. New College students believe that this will stand them in good stead for a bright future and the competition for jobs and university places.
32 subjects had a 100% pass rate as follows: Accounting, Art and Craft Design, Art and Design: Historical Practice, Applied Science, Classical Civilisation, Communications Studies, Creative Writing, Design Technology, Drama and Theatre Studies, Economics, Electronics, English Language, English Literature, Environmental Science, Extended Project Qualification (EPQ), Film Studies, French, General Studies, Further Maths, German, History (American & British 20th Century), History (Tudor & Stuarts), History of Art, Media Studies, Music, Philosophy, Polish, Spanish, Textiles, Travel & Tourism, Turkish and World
Development.
With the Government’s continuing emphasis on the importance of English and Maths, backed by employer organisations like the Confederation of British Industry, it’s good to report that 246 students sat for English and Maths A-levels with a pass rate of 98%, up from last year.
There were 12 subjects where over 50% of grades achieved were an A*, A or B, as follows: Art and Design: Historical Practice, Textiles, Extended Project Qualification, Film Studies, Geography, Maths, Further Maths, Media Studies, Physics, Polish, German and General Studies,
New College student Bethany Robinson achieved an A* grade in Extended Project Qualification, two A grades in English and Sociology and a B grade in Creative Writing. She plans to undertake a degree in Primary Education at the University of Winchester.
Bethany says “I am completely amazed and delighted at my results! My time at New College has been fantastic and has been essential in shaping the person I am today.”
Krishna Mistry gained A* grades in Law and Extended Project Qualification, an A grade in Economics and a B grade in Mathematics. She says, “A Level study has been challenging but rewarding and I’ve got into the university I wanted to go to, which is Loughborough to study Economics.”
Many adult students (those aged 19+) also chose to take their A Levels at New College when returning to education, often after several years. 19+ students achieved a great overall pass rate of 97%, with 38 out of 41 subjects having 100% passes.
For professional and vocational programmes, 205 New College students of all ages have taken BTEC Extended Diploma with 39% gaining distinctions. The BTEC Extended Diploma is equivalent to three A levels and a distinction is equivalent to top A-level grades.
In all, there were 1093 (16-18) entries for Level 3 vocational studies. Learners have gained work-ready qualifications in areas such as IT, Photography, Creative & Media (Games, T.V and film, software development), Sport, Public Services, Health & Social Care, Child Care, Hospitality, Travel & Tourism, Music, Performing Arts (Acting, Dance, Make-up), Applied Science, Beauty Therapy, Financial Studies and Accounting. Many of these young learners have worked part-time whilst at New College and have picked up the skills and work ethic that employers are demanding through participation in additional
activities such as employability courses and sessions and close business mentoring with local companies such as Intel.
New College is predicting that, once again, a high number of students will gain university places following these results.
In Autumn 2016, 560 New College students won places at university and other higher education providers.
New College Principal, Graham Taylor, added: “We are so delighted that so many of our students have achieved such fantastic A-level and BTEC vocational results, especially with recent reforms to both qualification types. These results really are a testament to the talent and hard work of our learners as well as the dedication, commitment and support given from our teaching and support staff.”
“Some students will choose to take advantage of higher education or Apprenticeship opportunities available here at New College whilst others will go onto jobs or universities across the country. Whichever university or career path our learners choose to go down, their experience at New College will stay with them – and we wish them all the best of luck for their futures.”
